The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-10-19
HISTORIC TREES.
OAKS AND ELMS THAT WE'RE
HIGHLY E sTEEMED.
The Poet Pope's Weeping Willow at
Twicke Tory Tulip
Tree-Charleston's Beau
tiful Council Tree.

respect from their close connection with
our history as nation. On Boston
/ Common there stands an elm tree, evil
IDENTIFY of no great age, ard, consequent
ly, not of great height, and with nothmS
particularly noticeable about it, except
! ing that it is enclosed by circular iron
fence, and appears to be an object oil So
| licitudc on the part of those whose duty
1t is so attend to the arboriculture OF the
CITY. This tree is shoot or "Sucker"
from its parent, the celebrated "oid
Elm, =" for many years an object OF ven
Grafton to Boston people. Why vener-
ated2 Simply because of its age, for 1t
had no history to be proud of. lis origin
is unknown. but it is supposed to have
| grown spontaneously before the settle
ment of Boston in 1G30. Tradition says
that as far back as mankind knew any
thing of Boston the tree was there. 1t
was used as gallows for hanging crimi-
nails in 1869, and it has been asserted
that so-called witches were hanged upon
it.
The Boston tree that had most OF
history. however, was the old Liberty
Tree. At the corner OF Washington ana
Essex streets stands building in whose
wall is inserted tablet bearing the form
of a tree in has relief. This building
covers the ground where the Liberty Tree
grew. The tree was said to have been
PLANTED in 1916. A century and a quarter
later the Sons of Liberty held meetings
under its branches, and in the days pre-
! ccding the outbreak of the revolution
the ground on which it stood was a place
OF assembly for the men who consrired
to throw off the British yoke. In l1i3
an anti-tea party was held beneath it,
! and it became so obnoxious to the British
! that in 1775 it was cut down by a de-
tachment of soldiers of the invading
army, one of whom was killed.
There is the great oak which stood on
the banks of the Gencssee River, near the
village of Genessee, N. Y. 1t was so re-
vered b! the Senecas that they named
their village the Big Tree. The trunk of
this tree measured twenty-siX feet nine
inches in circumference, and at the time
it was destroyed it was thought to be
200 years old. During flood in the
Genessee Valley in November. 1857, the
Big Tree was washed away.
The Charter Oak, of Hartford, Conn,
was undoubtedly the next in age to the
Big Tree, and was estimated to be about
COO years old when Hooker laid the
foundation for commonwealth there. 1t
was at one time known as Wyllys's Tree,
as it stood in front of the house occupied
nv Hon. Samuel Wyllys. 1t measured
twenty-six feet in circumference foot
from the ground. The cavity in which
the charter was placed on the night of
October 81, 1887, was near the root and
large enough to admit child. The
cavity gradually became smaller, until it
would scarcely admit hand. Tue oak
was prostrated in August, 1854, and
nearly every particle of it was worked into
some pleasing form and cherished as
memento of singular incident in Colo
NAL history.
The Treaty Tree was large elm which
stood on the banks of the Delaware river,
near what is now known as kensington
precinct, Philadelphia. 1t was under
this tree that William Penn formed his
treaty with the Indians in 1862. The
tree was long protected with care, but
was at last blown down in gale on
March 8, 1910. 1t was found to be 2S3
years old, and its trunk measured
twenty-three feet in circumference. The
Penn Society erected a monument, with
proper inscriptions upon its site.
The poet Pope had sent to him from
Smvrna drum of figs. In it was small
twig which he stuck in the ground near
his Twickenham villa. 1t took root and
grew rapidly, and was the admiration of
himself and his friends, and it proved to
be the Salix Babylonica, or weeping will
low, and it was the parent of all its
kind. After the death of Pope, Lord
Spencer became owner of the Twickcn-
ham estate, and it was finally purchased
by Lady Howe, who had the villa torn
down, and the willow tree pulled up by
,, the roots. and everything the poet priced
was suffered to fall into decay. ABritish
| officer who came to this coun-
try in ITS brought with him,
! wrapped in oiled silk, twig,
from Popc's willow, intending to plant
it himself in American soil. The young
officer became acquainted with Gusts
Washington's stepson, and he gave him
the willow twig. Gusts planted it at
Abingdon, in Virginia, where it grew
vigorously In 1790Gen. Gates brought
! from Abingdon shoot of the Custis will
| low, and planted it at the entrance gate
to his estate on Manhattan Island. and it
was known as Gatcs's weeping willow.
There was the tory tulip tree in South
! Carolina, so called because in 1850 ten
tories were hanged upon two of its lower
branches.
During the siege of Charleston by the
British in 1880, General Lincoln held a
council with his officers and leading citi-
zens of Charleston under the branches of
beautiful magnolia tree, and it was
called the council tree ever after by the
loyal inhabitants of that city. At the
time the tree was cut down for fire.
wood in 1e49, its branches spread over
more than 200 square yards.
There is the grand old elm at Cam
bridge, under which Washington as
sumcd command of the continental forces
on the morning of July 3, 1775. 1t stands
| in the midst of busy city, grand liv-
ing reminder of that imposing and i'm
portant event in American history.-B0s-
ton Herald.
| Tho New York Hotels